Technip Promises Revenue Growth in 2015 Amid Oil-Price Slump

Technip SA, France’s largest oil engineer, promised revenue and profit growth in 2015 even after the decline in crude prices forced the industry to cut capital spending.

“For 2015, based on our record 21 billion-euro ($24 billion) backlog, we are able to give clear guidance for revenue and profit growth,” Chief Executive Officer Thierry Pilenko said in a statement on Wednesday.

Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization at the Paris-based company rose 21 percent to 319.2 million euros, beating the 280.2 million-euro average of six analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue advanced 14 percent to 2.82 billion euros.

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Technip said it adapted to the challenging conditions in the oil industry by cutting costs, reducing headcount and streamlining its fleet of vessels. Quarterly profit at Chevron Corp., U.S.’s second-biggest oil company, dropped to the lowest in half a decade and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest, said it will cut $15 billion of investment over the next three years as the slump in global crude markets spurred more than $40 billion in oil-industry spending cuts.

The value of Brent crude halved last year, forcing oil companies, including service providers Halliburton Co. and Schlumberger Ltd., to fire more than 50,000 workers. Brent crude has increased 17 percent this month.

The company’s quarterly profit was bolstered by wider-than-forecast margins in the subsea drilling sector. Technip received 3.2 billion euros of orders in the fourth quarter, taking the total for the full year to 15.3 billion euros, according to the statement. The order backlog was a record 20.9 billion euros, the company said.

Technip proposed a dividend of 2 euros a share for 2014, 8 percent higher than the previous year.

The company said in December it plans to expand the range of service it offers energy companies, after a bid to buy French seismic surveyor CGG SA failed amid the oil price collapse.